Profile of Excellence:Laurence St. John
Owens Community College Alumnus

Laurence St. John was born in Toledo, Ohio. When he was young, his family moved to Genoa, Ohio where he lived for the next 25 years.

He graduated from Genoa High School in 1983. He wanted to attend college, but his family didn't have the funds and he wasn't comfortable taking out student loans.

So, he began working in manufacturing. The pay was good and he met the love of his life, Julie. After working at several jobs, he landed a job in steel processing.

In 1990, they married and St. John adopted her two children, Joe and Jan. He continued to work in the steel industry and weathered a company buy out. He felt lucky to still have a job, but uneasy after the transition.

His boss suggested that he go back to school to get a degree as a way to protect himself in the future, even better, his company would pay for it.

He chose Owens Community College because of the small class sizes. He worried he wouldn't fit in, but soon realized that many of the students were his age.

"I enjoyed my composition classes, where I was able to free my mind and write what I wanted," said St. John.

He graduated in 2004 with a degree in Microcomputer Business Systems.

Shortly after, his company was bought out again and he had to reapply for his job. That year was a difficult year for St. John. His first grandchild was on the way too. Once his granddaughter was born, he felt a surge of inspiration.

"I wanted to do something extraordinary that would make her proud of me. So, I was determined to write my penned-up thoughts on paper," said St. John.

He knew what he wanted to write, but was unsure of the process. A day later, he received a copy of the Owens alumni magazine. As he browsed the alumni updates, he noticed a story about a fellow alumnus and author.

He called the author and was able to learn more about what to expect and got a few leads on how to get started.

Now, six years later, his first novel "Metatron: The Angel Has Risen" was released in paperback. It is also available as an e-book in six languages.

"My Owens composition classes helped me immensely when it came to writing my book," said St. John.

St. John is thrilled to be a published author. He still works full-time and writes in the evenings and on weekends. He has already started the process of writing the next two books in the series.